(S06E12) After a week's layoff that felt like forever (we should be used to that by now with this show, frankly), we're roped right back in to what the boys from Jersey were up to. Julianna Margulies' character has made her way back into the show, in a way that I'd heard on the down low was going to happen, and she turns out to be just the troubling influence that one of the main guys didn't need. Carmela appears dead set on finding out what happened to Adrianna, something that Tony is more than interested in halting from happening.
Going in to this week's season finale, I was curious as to if we'd be left with a serious cliffhanger, or brought into a false sense of security. Unless I missed something, the latter seems to be the case. Christopher seems to be having cold feet about his marriage and impending new addition to the family, and is taking out his frustrations elsewhere. Phil and the New York crew appear to be plotting something very, very bad for the Jersey crew. And most importantly, of course, AJ seems to have made a new friend at the construction site. But like they say, "at least she's Catholic."
So, were you at all surprised to see Christopher getting it on with the woman that Tony wishes he was banging? I most certainly wasn't, after hearing that spoiler a few weeks back. What I was surprised about was that not only did Tony refrain from kicking Christopher's ass over it, but that Christopher actually owned up to doing it. Hope he remembered to bring his wife home a quattro formaggi. Oh, come on. You know he forgot.
I loved how Tony managed to deflect Carmela's attention - hopefully - from searching out Adrianna's killer by making Sil lean harder on the building inspector, allowing her to do construction on her spec house. Wonder if that'll stick, considering the business card she pulled out of her bag and onto her end table. Tony also provided for some comic relief when meeting with Dr. Melfi, especially when he was seemingly complaining about the "type" of women that he always ends up wanting to get with. She asks him "what he thinks it means," and I so thought he was going to make a snide remark about wanting to have sex with his mother, but we missed out on that.
Now, I don't know about you all, but I most certainly look at the New York crew, and except for The Hairstyle, they're looking pretty "dead" already. I mean, John's in prison and out of it, Phil's now had a bad heart attack, and the guys who remain look like they could all be offed with a twist of Tony's wrist. When Tony had his "little chat" with Phil in the hospital, I honestly wondered whether Phil was really crying because he was taking Tony seriously, or that he was just so miserable that he couldn't do anything after trying to curse out his fellow boss that he had to let it out somehow. What I do know is that if that group of semi-loose cannons decides they want to cause some trouble across the Hudson, they might just do it.
Towards the end, it appeared that things would end ever so simply as Christmas occurred and the family got together at the Soprano home. Heck, even Uncle Junior got a visit from Bobby in the home, and it was funny to see him receive an envelope, meant for Bobby's family, and then give it to an orderly. Oddly quiet and simple was this closing, so much so that either David Chase and crew wanted us to think that things were calming down in the Newark area, or to make the final eight episodes that much more effective. And really, who saw Agent Harris as a legit enough guy to help out Tony, telling him that the boys in Brooklyn had it in for someone in Jersey, and there's no way that Tony would let that happen. So either Harris *wants* to get things rolling for his fellow federal agents, or he was just being polite because of the Christmas season. Oh, come on, that's never happening.
Now we have more than half a year to take our guesses on what's going to happen next. Some have said they think Junior will be offed, I almost wouldn't be surprised if both of the crews end up wasted, more or less. Will Adrianna's killer be unearthed? Is Meadow's move out to California the beginning of the unraveling of Tony's actual family? Anyone want to take bets on who actually lives through this entire series? And finally, do we want a happy ending or a crazy ending, once it's all said and done?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-05-2006 @ 12:16AM
aphoward said...
Is there any chance at all that the show will contine after the "final" 8 episodes? As someone who just started watching the show in the past 2 months (watched all previous 5 season dvds in a big marathon week, just like I did prior to this 24 season), I am really loving this show. I can't believe they would kill off a show that is so hugely popular (and actually good!, not some American Idol/Survivor/No Deal BS).
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6-05-2006 @ 12:48AM
Jason said...
if this was anyother show id say it was filler, but i know david chase did this type of ep for a reason. cant wait for it to get back. at least we have entourage coming up.
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6-05-2006 @ 12:51AM
dk said...
I’m sorry if this offends but I really feel like this show throws me over a barrel every time and why I keep coming back for more is beyond me. Did anything happen this season? Yes Tony got shot blah blah blah but nothing irreversible and dramatic like Adriana or big pussy, Tony was good to go in a matter of episodes. And for a guy still waiting for the Russian to reappear I don’t want to hear any more about how they are setting things up – at some point we should get some payoff. Throw us a bone. From the start of this episode it looked like it was going to be great but then all the build up is defused. Just like AJ going down stairs, he’s defending his lady, living up to his name, now he’s a construction guy… “um big scary guys take my bike it’s new and was a xmas gift from my mommy and daddy.” At least he got laid, what do we get? Just a flat out boring family drama, might as well be watching Pickett Fences. Thank g-d for Deadwood, well for one more season.
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6-05-2006 @ 1:23AM
Sorceressss said...
This episode should have been called "sex and drugs" sheesh. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and I am sure some of them will be and some won't in the final 8.
What I miss is the gut wrenching suspense and tension that made this show so popular, ie; what it used to be...
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6-05-2006 @ 1:41AM
Daniel Solis said...
The whole episode seemed like a recap.
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6-05-2006 @ 6:02AM
jc said...
I agree with 'dk' in post # 3- this season looked like it was going to be great in the first couple episodes, but it quickly became a bore fest. It's sad that the "meat" of this season was about Vito being outed and killed- should've covered that in one episode, if at all. For me, season five was a major dissapointment and season six ranks even lower. Like a tv reviewer said recently, it appears the writers ran out of ideas. Plus it seems the actors are not inspired anymore- where is that electricity that passed from the tv screen to the viewer? It probably would have been best to wrap up the Sopranos series with a different season five, made up of condensed material from what we saw in seasons 5 and 6 and what we'll see in the next 8 episodes to come. Don't get me wrong, I am as big a fan as anyone. I would watch the series every week as long as they kept making episodes- I love the characters and the production value of the show. I'll continue to watch the entire series on DVD each year. But, unfortunately, the first two seasons are still the best- they set an incredibly high standard that viewers come to expect in all seasons. These last two seasons didn't even come close.
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6-05-2006 @ 6:58AM
Angel said...
I enjoyed last night's episodes, especially the plot with Christopher and the realtor. It's not your typical season finale and of course, people will be disappointed because no one important was killed, but it was entertaining. It seemed to me that they were setting us up for the final eight episodes, which was fine with me.
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6-05-2006 @ 8:39AM
Toby OB said...
David Chase and the writers ran out of ideas years ago. Remember the plotline about the two guys who thought they would get in Tony's good graces by killing Christopher? That plotline was already used in an episode of 'The Rockford Files' - and David Chase wrote it!
The first season was the only perfect season, and that's because Chase had about seventeen years to let it percolate in his mind; getting it polished and ready for its eventual green-light on HBO.
As for each season afterwards, there were moments, there were particular storylines, that stood out, but no season that was perfect straight through to keep the show right up there as the all-time best. Instead it's been dwindling down for at least the last four seasons, dulling the lustre of the legend.
The absolutely perfect 'Sopranos' would have ended with that first season by having Tony actually kill his mother in the nursing home. Instead, it was thrown off-kilter when Nancy Marchand got too sick to work and the show lost that fascinating central premise.
In trying to realign the focus of the show, I don't think they ever found a new way to look at the genre of organized crime that wasn't already being covered in all of the Scorsese films. Instead, it devolved to just being a "whack of the week" show - that's good enough for viewers like my friend Boomer, but it could have been so much better.
Just my 2 quatloos....
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6-05-2006 @ 9:47AM
Tool said...
This episode was like Tony's romp with Julianna. It started out hot, but ended prematurely (and limp).
I'm sure that the last 8 episodes will rock, but this season will go down as the worst of the series.
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6-05-2006 @ 10:14AM
Jo Di said...
I have one word to say about this seasons Sopranos.
B O R I N G.
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6-05-2006 @ 10:14AM
Jo Di said...
B O R I N G
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6-05-2006 @ 10:16AM
Jo Di said...
B O R I N G
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6-05-2006 @ 10:19AM
Ken said...
My 2 cents...this show has many things going for it and i always felt that the sex, violence, comedy, writing and acting are just top notch, and i didnt see that change at all...i mean...one thing i've always known is that an ounce of blood is worth more than a gallon of gold!!!!
all kidding aside...i feel this show has consistently drawn a very bright line around the hypocritical nature of these wonderful gangsters "business" and their family lives or even just their wants and desires as human beings...i think more than any show i've followed its been consistent and honest about the outside shell of our typical day to day and "whats really going on" underneath it all..
there they say in their idyllic xmas setting..chris and his lovely pregnant wife!! HA!...AJ is finally coming around..(at least she's catholic!! ha)...Carm and her high and mighty routine..always worrying for others, but really incredibly greedy...and of course tony and all his contradictions...
and so it goes...just like it does for all of us every day..just my 2 cents, but more than any show, i think sopranos dramatizes this in an interesting way..
dont get me wrong,...i love the sex and violence, the whackings, etc...but i dont think that's what the show is about..
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6-05-2006 @ 10:41AM
Bob M. said...
. . . have to agree with what Ken has written.
I completely enjoyed watching Tony's "growth" this season. Given the opportunity to begin his life again as a changed person, he eventually returned to being who he was, mas or menos, before being shot. Seeing Tony's visit with Phil in the hospital, I wasn't sure if he sincerely was wishing Phil a speedy recovery or, as is more probable, simply effin with him & pushing him toward death the way that Paulie almost did for Tony during his hospital visit.
Great season, and great last show of the season....
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6-05-2006 @ 10:42AM
Ferley said...
This whole or half of season has all been filler. I used to like the show but after season three it has been downhill!!! I do not care anymore about this show and last night I cancelled HBO.
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6-05-2006 @ 10:57AM
panasianbiz said...
I agree with what dk posted way above. Man, I'm not even sure why I keep watching The Sopranos. Last night's episode looked promising in so many different spots, and could have really been great... but for some reason, Chase decided there didn't need to be a payoff. What a waste of time.
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6-05-2006 @ 11:25AM
loyd milligan said...
Disappointed in the readers of TV squad. This season was a great example of what makes this show great... the drama, not the killing of a main character.
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6-05-2006 @ 12:16PM
Pam said...
Although Tony has his "near death" appreciation of life, I think he's angrier. His reactions are a lot more tentative and I think he is absorbing and planning .. seems more like a "boss". His hospital visit to Phil wasn't from the heart; it was in direct response to the warning from Agent Harris. I predict the first violent bloodshed in 8 will be Christopher's pregnant wife. (And I don't mean a bad labor ) Chase didn't create a happy pregnant character for any reason other than to develop a "tragedy". I think the beginning of 8 will revolve around Chris. Margoles will porobably OD in the first episode and then Chris will be out there on his own with his addiction ... wifey will catch on .. Chris will get of control. Of the major players, Chrisis will be the first to go.. and AJ will either die or kill his mother or fatherat the end. He HAS to explode.
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6-05-2006 @ 12:32PM
arthur cocchi said...
Horray for Christopher and AJ for the pussy they're getting! Boo for Carmella. She's making me sick with that "spec house" nonsense! Phil should have put the contract out on Carmella and his own dingbat wife, they're both boring characters as well as some of the other women such as Big Pussy's wife and the Aprile widow. . Too much wasted footage this season especially the "Paris vacation episode"! Worst season for The Sopranos!!! Oh, another "deadbeat",,, Meadow's boyfriend. I've met metermaids with more personality1
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6-05-2006 @ 12:58PM
Steve said...
Why couldn't this season be like the others?
I remember the old ones, Christopher and Paulie in the middle of the woods. Scared that the russian guy was out there, That was suspence!
This season was crap. I'll say that. I hope that something big happens, like Adriana's killer being found out, that leads up to Tony "whacking" Carmella,
I don't know 'bout you, but that would be great.
All I can say is that I can't wait for another 6 months to go by, so I can watch the series end.
(with a good twist) ;)
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